A typical electrochemical cell has a cathode and an anode which participate in an electrochemical reaction during operation of the cell. The electrodes may contain an electroactive material that can interact with one or more cell component(s) to facilitate the conduction of ions between electrodes.
Some electrodes may be formed by coating a conductive substrate, including porous conductive substrates, with an electroactive material, often in the presence of a binder material to enhance adhesion and cohesion of the electroactive material to the electrode. However, current methods for fabricating electrodes using a binder material generally cannot achieve high loading of electroactive material without generating significant mechanical problems in the finished electrode. For example, the conductive substrate may be coated using a slurry containing an electroactive material and an insoluble binder material, which typically causes rapid slurry coagulation and can limit the amount of electroactive material loading achieved in the electrode. Alternatively, soluble binders solutions can stabilize the slurry and can facilitate the coating process. However, portions of the resulting electrode structure are often blocked by the deposited materials and may be rendered inaccessible to electroactive species during operation of the cell. This can result in cells having decreased rate capability and electroactive material utilization.
Accordingly, improved methods are needed.